The invitation to lunch, presented to his mother as a lunch date with Marietta Edgecombe, had been enough to give him a morning of reprieve from the glares and planning. The Edgecombes might not quite has the blood purity, but they had the standing and really it was all about presentation of facts than actual truth when it came to that sort of thing. In short, Marietta Edgecombe was more along the lines of someone Zacharias should be spending time with according to mother dearest, especially now that inheritance became a much more pressing issues.
Loath as he was to leave his sister, even for a few hours, she let him go with the promise that he would owe her. Whatever the case was, he was just glad for the excuse to pop over to Diagon Alley and get the hell out of Peebles. Good as the whiskey was, the company was horrible.
"Well, you look like shit," he said sliding effortlessly into the seat across from here. It was as good a greeting as any between them and really he didn't have the patience to be polite.